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During the course of your career you may be asked to deliver a presentation as part of a recruitment process. 

Done properly, a presentation is an excellent opportunity for you to show off your skills, knowledge, expertise and personality; outside the usual constraints of an regular interview.

The RCN Careers Service has put together some advice to help you prepare, structure and deliver your presentation.

Delivering a presentation 

In addition to written applications and interviews, you may also be asked to do a presentation as part of the recruitment process. This is especially common for more senior posts.

Some employers may ask you to present on a topic of your choice, others will give you a presentation topic in advance, and some may not reveal the subject of the presentation until the assessment day itself.

In addition to judging your presentation skills, the employer will also be examining:

• Communication skills
• Personality and behaviour
• The clarity of your ideas
• Your ability to influence 
• Your preparation and research skills
• How you engage with an audience 

Researching your topic

Research the subject of the presentation carefully. You may need to research and study local or national nursing initiatives, campaigns, new legislation, news, or changes that are relevant to the presentation topic.

You should also get to know the organisation or employer. Identify organisational values or core competencies, if they have any initiatives or campaigns going on, or are involved in any pilots. You may be able to use this knowledge to your advantage with regard to the focus, message or ideas within your presentation.

• Join an RCN forum relevant to your field of practice. As well as lots of resources and information, each RCN forum has its own private Facebook group where you can connect and chat with other RCN members working in that field. Browse previous discussions or ask your peers for some tips, ideas or pointers on your presentation topic.
• Consider using AI tools such as Chat GPT, Copilot, or Gemini.
• You may want to ask the RCN library for help with research, literature searches, or accessing nursing journals.
• Browse our RCN clinical topics pages.
• If the focus of the presentation is about leadership, see the Leadership Skills page.

Purpose of the presentation

Ask yourself what the interviewers or employer would be looking for. Are they assessing your ideas, clinical knowledge, communication skills, leadership skills, or strategy skills?

Consider how you could tailor your presentation to align with their expectations.

Employer's vision

Research the organisation you are interviewing with. Review their mission, vision, goals, operational plan, and/or strategic priorities. 

What are the long-term goals of the organisation? Do they have an organisational strategy? For example, are they expanding certain services, improving patient safety, reducing waiting times, or advancing healthcare technology? This may help to shape the direction or focus of your presentation.

Structure 

Once you are familiar with your subject area, you will need to decide what you want to say.

• Start by writing the main message or messages that you want to get across, and deciding the order in which you will present your ideas. 
• Try not to cover too much. Aim for clarity over complexity.
• Decide how you’ll communicate your messages and arguments to the panel. 

Aim to have:

• An engaging introduction
• A series of main points and/or ideas in a logical sequence.
• A poignant or thought-provoking conclusion

Introduction

Begin your presentation with a strong and punchy introduction. This section will be the first thing the panel will hear, so the bigger the impression it makes the better.

You could start off by asking a question, open with an interesting statistic or quote, or sharing a story or metaphor.

You may also want to give an overview or summary of what the presentation is about, what you're going to cover, or talk about any aims or objectives for the presentation you may have.

Expand

After your introduction comes the main body of your presentation. Keep each slide focused, with just a few points on each. 

Conclude

Finish off with a short summary and conclude concisely. Try and make this effective, interesting, or engaging, as it will be the last thing the panel will hear.

Slides

Use pictures, video clips, graphs, diagrams, or colour to make the presentation more stimulating and engaging.

Remember, slides are meant to highlight key concepts, not serve as a script. Your verbal explanation should provide the depth, whilst the slide should offer a visual prompt.

Try not to overload your slides. It's better to have many slides with a simple message on each than having fewer slides that are crowded with lots of information.

• Use bullet points to break up information into digestible chunks
• Avoid long paragraphs or long sentences.
• Try not to have too much information or text on each slide.

Language

Using assertive language during your presentation is an essential part of conveying confidence, clarity, and authority, especially for senior positions. Assertive language helps you present your ideas with conviction, demonstrating that you can take charge and lead initiatives.

Try and avoid phrases like, "I'm just going to run really quickly through this little graph," or "I just want to show you this statistic if that's ok." This can suggest uncertainty or a lack of confidence in the material you're presenting. 

Instead, try language such as,

• "I'm going to show you this graph depicting…"
• “This next slide is really interesting, it shows..."
• "Let's take a look at that in more detail..."

Rehearsal

Rehearse until you know your presentation inside out. If you're well prepared and well-rehearsed, you'll feel more confident and more in control on the day, minimising the chances of having a mind block or getting flummoxed if something doesn’t go to plan. 

Think carefully about your body language, which should come across as positive and confident.

Consider your posture, facial expressions, hand gestures, whether you want to walk around the room a bit as you're speaking, and/or what you're going to do with your arms as you present. 

You could film yourself or get someone to film you so you can watch the footage back and reflect. Were you talking too fast? Did you forget to smile? What was your body language like? What about your eye contact? Did you come across as engaging?

It's a good idea to time yourself so that you know roughly what slide you should be on and when.

Ask someone to listen to your presentation and provide constructive feedback.

Body language and energy

Try to smile whilst making eye contact with the members of the panel, rather than staring at a screen all the time.

Be aware of closed or nervous body language, such as crossing your arms, looking downwards, or fidgeting.

If you have a lot of nervous energy, try and convey it as positive energy instead, e.g. passion for your subject, excitement, eagerness, enthusiasm, etc.

Practical considerations

Time management is crucial during a presentation so keep an eye on the time.

Take several printed copies of your slides in the event of any technical problems, and make sure you've saved your presentation to your phone or memory stick for backup.

AI presentation tools

is an A.I-based tool which generates presentations. It can help you generate ideas on structure, images, and wording content, creating presentations that you can easily refine and customise.

If you do use AI tools, ensure your presentation reflects your own knowledge, insights, and personal touch.

Get feedback

If your are unsuccessful, always ask for feedback. It may be helpful to ask specific questions such as, "What two areas would you say I needed to work on the most?" or, "What impressed you most during my presentation?"